Kennewick's Railway Future
Northern Pacific promises to turn the town into a major junction and transit hub.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Kennewick is to have a new railroad soon. This was the direct information given to C. A. Lundy, Kennewick's representative on the boat landing proposition, by Second Vice President C. M. Levy on Monday in his office at Tacoma. 'We cannot see our way clear to give Kennewick a boat landing and river connection this year,' said Mr. Levy speaking for the Northern Pacific management, 'but we have something better. You people at Kennewick can depend on the construction in the immediate future of a road through the valley to connect with the Sunnyside extension from Mabton. Eventually, the line will be extended down the Columbia to Portland. Kennewick will be a junction point with a full complement of yards and switches, a railway center of importance. On the Portland route, the right-of-way has been already secured for the greater part of the distance. Large markets will then be opened to Kennewick farmers under the present ditch and those settling on land under the Leadbetter canal that will be put in by the government. Kennewick will be the railroad town between Spokane and the Coast.'
“Kennewick will be the railroad town between Spokane and the Coast.”
In 1905, the promise of a railroad junction was the ultimate sign of a town's 'arrival' and long-term economic viability. Today, while passenger rail has diminished, Kennewick's identity remains tied to its position as a logistics hub for the Tri-Cities, reflecting a century-long shift from steam-powered growth to modern infrastructure.
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